Traditionally, consumer care products such as antiperspirants and/or deodorant products are packaged in an oval or round plastic barrel component. The top of the barrel is open to allow the product to be exposed and dispensed for use, while the opposite bottom, end of the barrel contains a mechanism (e.g., a product support elevator coupled with a hand-rotatable screw) to assist in the dispensing of the product.
Antiperspirant and deodorant compositions are offered by manufacturers in a variety of sizes and product forms such as liquids, creams, gels, semi-solids, and solid sticks. These products have different ingredients, active levels, solvents, viscosities, shapes, sizes, and fill volumes to address a variety of consumer preferences and needs. In this regard manufacturers desire a more efficient way of producing these numerous product offerings especially under a single brand.
Currently manufacturers may use different size barrels to accommodate different fill volumes. Alternatively manufacturers may accommodate different fill volumes by changing the spindle and/or the elevator designs. Each packaging design must be adapted to avoid manufacturing, shipping, storage, and dispensing problems that are associated with these different product offerings. For example different fill volumes for compositions may exhibit different stability profiles, may apply different internal pressures on the package, may require air-tight seals, may cause different degrees of solvent syneresis or weeping, and may require different package designs for ease of and consistent dosing of the composition.
In addition manufactures have historically used a large number of injection molding parts to make different packaging components for the various product offerings. As a result, sometimes as many as 50-75 or more different molds must be developed, used, and maintained in the injection molding process. A change in one mold component of the packaging often requires adaptations of the other components. Thus multiple product offerings to consumers present a major challenge to manufacturers.
Thus, a need exists for interchangeable package components to accommodate different fill volumes within a single package and/or product chamber configuration. The use of the same mold parts to manufacture packages that accommodate different fill volumes reduces manufacturing time, cost and complexity since fewer injection molds are needed. Also, manufacturing may be consolidated to fewer manufacturing lines. These advantages are provided while still providing a dispensing package with adequate strength, flexibility, aesthetic appearance, stability, and dispensing consistency for a variety of product offerings.